TARANAKI POWER BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1932, Page 9

TARANAKI POWER BOARD.

GENERATION AND SUPPLY NEW PLYMOUTH OFFERS CURRENT. LOSS OF £3OOO ON YEAR’S WORK. The following members attended the Taranaki Power Board’s meeting yesterday: Messrs. H. G. Carman (chairman), C. Foreman, J. Dobson, R. J. Knuckey, C. E. McGuinness, M. J. Gernhoefer, H. J. Marchant and N. H. Moss. The engineer (Mr. B. H. Goldsmith) reported that the number of consumers at March 31 was 2154. Units generated during the month totalled 872,600. The largest daily output was 29,500 unite on March 24, and the maximum demand of 1,872 k.w. occurred on March 16. Installations connected during the month were as follow, figures • for the corresponding period last year being given in parentheses: Pumps 2 (—), lighting and. heating (new) 5 (4), fight and heating (additional) 6 (12). The station was shut down for water conservation at 11 p.m. on Mareh 22 and re-started at 5 a.m. the following day. While the river was flow, the culvert under Ratapiko Road was examined and found to be partially blocked with willow roots, which had found their- way between' the joints in the. concrete pipes and had formed a curtain, which l had collected debris.- The roots- were 'removed and the joints concreted from the inside. Work in the Mangaotea -cut ■ proceeded in the usual manner,; 23 -days being spent in sluicing and one; day in odd work. ; ' -i ■

The Hawera jubilee committee wrote thanking the board for the : use of electrical display fittings. - ; ■ When a letter was received from the Taranaki Education Board: asking for the appointment of delegates to a conference regarding the Opaku Reserve fund Mr. Marchant said 1 that a-lot had been heard from the Prime Minister regarding the sanctity of contracts, but here was, he thought, a barefaced attempt to avoid a contract and steal ’ a gift. Mr. Moss was appointed to attend the conference at Stratford. REMOVAL OF DUTY. The removal of the duty on imported electric stoves was urged by the Waitemata Power Board, which considered that steps should be taken to permit ’of electric stoves being installed at the cheapest possible price to consumers. It was contended that the landing charges, totalling 76 per cent, on the manufactured cost of English stoves, constituted a protection to New Zealand made stoves out of all proportion to. the number of such stoves manufactured in this country. • . . Members said that the question ot protecting local industry was involved. The engineer remarked that until recently England did. not make a bid.fortho New Zealand market, but now excellent English stoves were on the mar-.'; ket** Mr. Moss said he would support al move for a reduction /of the duty. It might be possible to do this and yet protect New Zealand industry by not taking it off altogether. . . This course was favoured • by other members. ’ A letter dated - April 5 was .received from the New Plymouth Borough Council offering -to> assist the board., during the dry weather with a supply of power not exceeding 220 k.w. on the same iter ips as the council’s previous purchased power from the board, except that there should be-nd minimum demand. . • The chairman stated, that 220 k.w. would have been totally insufficient. At least 1000 k.w. would/.have .been necessary. -The supply could have, been put over the Inglewood- line .if they had had the necessary transformers, but this would have taken some time to arrange, and the emergency was over before this could have been done. .Legally the New Plymouth Borough -Council was not in a position to supply -‘power according to the decision of the audit! department, on which they were -.seeking a . declaratory judgment. • ■, ■ ■ ’ EMERGENCY PASSED. The chairman moved; that the board thank the/New Plymouth Borough Council for its-offer, stating .that the emergency had now passed. .. . Mr. Moss said that he would like the resolution to state that the amount of power offered was not sufficient and that there was the legal difficulty with the audit department. There had been much criticism of the board for not obtaining additional power from those who were not acquainted with the technical difficulties. People asked why they did not get power from New Plymouth.;.or from the Government supply. Even if New Plymouth could have supplied sufficient there was no line over which they could have passed the energy. To; have obtained power from the Government line would have involved the installation of equipment costing £lO,OOO, and the gear was not in New Zealand. If there had been any means by which the board could 1 have averted the temporary, failure of the system it would have done so. Mr. Knuckey: Mr. Moss’ suggestion is a good one. It will make the position plain to the ratepayers. . It was decided to frame a reply in terms of Mr. Moss’ remarks. The items of receipts and payments for the year ending March 31, 1932, included the. following: Balance £7lO 15a 3d, rates £3127 17s 7d, goods £1732 15s 2d, current £44,761 13s 7d, installations £2736 10s Bd, and other items making a total of £53,613 Os 6d. These amounts included the following bulk sales of currents New Plymouth, £2786 10a sd; Kaponga, £392 Ils 7d; Stratford, £4002 14s 9d. Substantial items among the payments were £27,420 13s lOd for interest on loans, £1152 14s lid for principal repayments, £3650 for sinking, funds, £7286 Os 6d for salaries and wages, and £2398 Is 5d for stores. h ' The chairman said the estimated loss on last year’s working was about £3OOO, but the board would.be able io s meet this out of accumulated; profits.’’ Mr, Moss referred to the great saving that could be accomplished by the reduction of interest. This, however, would be offset by the cost’of obtaining additional power. There had been a lot of criticism of the proposal to reduce interest rates and he had incurred a lot of odium for having'.advocated it. Tho ■Taranaki Power Board was one of the first local bodies to pass a resolution urging this course. • Under the Act it was necessary to apply for a reduction of interest rates and .he thought that the board should move in this dire? ■ tion.